


Leukocyte

by TheDarknessFactor



Series: The Scientific Implications of Two Sisters [7]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Legends: The Old Republic
Genre: Angst, Chapter two, F/F, Fluff, Recovery, Team as Family, Trooper Class Story
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-25
Updated: 2016-03-25
Packaged: 2018-05-29 02:49:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,989
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6355909
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheDarknessFactor/pseuds/TheDarknessFactor
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's not until much, much later that the Gauntlet feels like a victory.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Leukocyte

**Author's Note:**

> This was supposed to be angst, and it turned into tooth-rotting fluff. Look what this fandom has turned me into.

Kulah’ni ignores the pain from where blaster bolts had managed to singe their way through her armor, feeling the heaviness in her limbs dragging her down. The weight of her assault cannon is more pronounced than usual. Her ears are still ringing with the finality of the explosions that are bringing the Gauntlet down.

She’s on her way to regroup with the rest of her squad, passing by Imperials who are attempting to flee the ship. None of them pay her any mind, which is just fine with her— she’s not sure she has the will to shoot anyone else today.

Around another corner, and then another, and then down another turbolift, and Kulah’ni finally sees a hallway that looks familiar. She hurries around yet another corner, breathing a sigh of relief when she sees the familiar colors of her squad. Then she registers the pinched look on Aric’s face, and the way Forex is hovering protectively over…someone. For once in his life, Tanno seems to be stricken as well.

Aric sees her first, and holds out a hand in warning. “Sir—“

It’s not enough to stop Kulah’ni from dropping to her knees next to Elara, panic flying through her as she registers the charred hole that goes straight through the breastplate of Elara’s armor. She resists the urge to touch Elara— cradle her face, lift her up, anything— and (by some miracle) manages to assess the situation logically, checking for other possibly life-threatening injuries. There aren’t any, but…

“Sir,” Aric says. His voice is gentler than usual. “She probably needs a bacta tank.”

Kulah’ni shakes her head. “She’s not the only combat medic on this team, Jorgan.”

“There’s no time—“ Tanno tries to say.

“We’ve got approximately a minute and 20 seconds,” Kulah’ni says, somehow keeping her voice perfectly calm. “That’s plenty of time.”

Every set of standard-issue Republic armor has clasps at each shoulder and near the bottom of the breastplate, just below the ribs. She undoes them first, before instructing Aric to pin down Elara’s legs in case she reacts badly to the pain (which isn’t likely, given that she’s unconscious, but Kulah’ni’s been taught to consider all possibilities). She lifts the breastplate from Elara’s chest like it’s made of little more than an egg shell, and ignores Jorgan’s sharp intake of breath when he gets a good look at the entry wound.

It’s not deep enough to have an exit wound— Kulah’ni doesn’t have a medical probe droid to scan Elara to be sure, but she’s seen enough of those to know that they’re almost always fatal (and this one is not). But the burn hole is still ugly to behold, even though blaster bolts do the victims the favor of cauterizing the wound. It’s not the threat of bleeding to death that gets soldiers— it’s the possibility that important nerves and organs will be singed beyond repair.

This particular bolt hit Elara dead center— close enough to burn straight through her armor, but not enough to shatter her sternum. A second shot in the same place would have been a death sentence, which means that either Elara or Aric took the shooter out before they could do any more damage.

Aric’s right— Elara needs a full tank immersion ASAP. The problem is, she’s not going to get it until they can get the Thunderclap to one of the cruisers.

“She wouldn’t give up on me,” Aric murmurs. “I got shot, and she wouldn’t damn well leave it alone…”

“Now’s not the time for self-blame, Jorgan,” Kulah’ni replies, but it’s more automatic than anything else. There’s a part of her— a part that she normally keeps compartmentalized during battle, and for good reason— that wants nothing more to grip Elara’s hand.

“Jorgan, get to the Thunderclap, bring a stretcher,” she snaps. “We can’t risk moving her too much. Forex, contact Garza, inform her that our squadmate has been injured and is in need of immediate medical attention. Ask her which vessel in our fleet best suits our need for a full bacta tank immersion. Yuun, Vik, pay attention— I may need your help to treat her.”

Aric doesn’t need to be told twice. Forex says, “Right away, sir!” before he makes the call. Yuun and Tanno stand at the ready.

Kulah’ni cuts away the fabric of Elara’s black undershirt, opens the compartment on her belt where she keeps her emergency kolto packs, and squeezes the jelly-like fluid into the open wound. It’ll need a rinse in approximately an hour and a half, but they should have proper medical facilities by then. She applies another layer of kolto on top of that before asking Tanno to lift Elara by the shoulders and Yuun to lift her by the hips. She smoothly slides the bottom of the breastplate out from underneath her.

“Keep holding her there,” she instructs, then wraps one of her bandages around Elara’s chest, binding it tight. The bandage ought to be enough to hold the kolto fluid in place.

Aric arrives a moment later with the stretcher, and Kulah’ni watches as Yuun and Tanno lift her onto it. They double-time it out of the Gauntlet, aware of the ship disintegrating around them. Kulah’ni pilots the Thunderclap at its top speed out of the hangar, not even bothering to look back as the Gauntlet goes up in flames.

Garza has directed them to a Republic cruiser called the Ascendance, where Elara is hurried away by medical personnel. Kulah’ni goes through the motions in her official report to Garza, estimating total loss of life on the Imperial side (she tries not to think about how the number of deaths she’s responsible for has soared into the hundreds, all because of one damn ship) before Garza informs her of the casualties on the Republic side.

“No deaths, 20 injured,” Garza says. “A resounding success, Commander.”

 _Is it?_ Kulah’ni wants to ask. There’s no sense of victory today.

Havoc Squad is given official leave for their actions, but Kulah’ni has no intention of departing the Ascendance until Elara is at least somewhat recovered. She makes her way to the medbay as soon as she’s dismissed, aware that she’s in desperate need of a shower, food, and sleep, and not caring.

Right now, her priority is Elara.

She’s somewhat surprised to see Aric already in the medbay. He’s still got that pinched look on his face as he watches Elara bobbing up and down in the bacta tank, her eyes closed. Elara’s burn is no longer visible— the bindings meant to hide her chest are also hiding the burn— but there are other scorch marks dotting her skin.

“Medical droid commended you on your initial treatment for her,” Aric informs her.

Kulah’ni nods. Then— because she doesn’t think she could stand silence right now— she asks, “What happened, exactly?”

Aric stiffens, but he recounts the story without complaint. How there had been unexpected Imperial reinforcements on the bridge. How he’d gotten a blaster bolt to the thigh, making it almost impossible to walk. How Elara had insisted on treating him, in spite of his orders for her to leave him behind. How one Imperial soldier caught them both by surprise.

“She looked—“ he breaks off for a moment, laughing brokenly. “She looked so kriffing pissed. It was kinda scary, actually. There she was, just having taken a blaster bolt to the chest, and she just shot that pile of bantha poodoo right in the face. I’ve never seen her that angry before in my life. She held on long enough to drag us both a ways in the direction of the Thunderclap, then she passed out. I got us the rest of the way there.”

“You did good, Aric.” Kulah’ni rolls her eyes at the disbelieving look he shoots her.  “Remember what I said about the self-blame? This was her choice.”

She’s such a kriffing hypocrite— telling him this, when she can still hear her own voice ordering Aric and Elara to attack the bridge. It rings through her head, over and over again, until she just wants to clamp her hands over her ears and scream.

“You think I haven’t been telling myself that?” Aric grumbles, but he doesn’t argue further.

Eventually, Aric is coaxed away by the medical droid, insisting that he get his leg treated. Aric is reluctant until Kulah’ni makes it an order, staring at him until he complies. He refuses to leave Elara’s room, however, and so the two of them sit on the visitor’s bench while the droid examines Aric’s propped up leg. Kulah’ni doesn’t move, not until she drifts off and wakes up three hours later— still dirty, still starving, somehow even more exhausted, and with the addition of a horrible taste in her mouth.

She’s not sure if it’s from her impromptu nap, or her guilt.

* * *

 

The cruiser seems too large.

Havoc has traveled on the surfaces of planets before, but otherwise their home is the Thunderclap— which is large enough that they can all have their own space if need be, but not so large that Kulah’ni ever feels isolated there. She always knows that Elara’s in the medbay, or that she can talk to Yuun in the engine room, or that C2 is just down the hall.

On the cruiser, however, it’s a fifteen minute walk from the Thunderclap to the medbay. She only makes that journey once, when Aric finally forces her to go take a shower and get some food in her belly. She returns to Elara’s room wearing civvies and a scarf— no one told her that cruisers are kriffing _cold_.

Four standard days pass before the medical droid approves Elara’s removal from the tank. Even then, it insists that Elara remain on board the Ascendance, in case her condition worsens. On the fifth day, Kulah’ni spends three straight hours meditating in Elara’s room, eventually coming to the conclusion that obsessing over Elara’s recovery isn’t doing either of them any favors.

She checks in with her crew— they’re all (mostly) doing okay after the mission. Tanno seems untouched by the violence, his genuine concern for Elara all but gone now that the danger seems to be over. Yuun asks her about her redirection of energies lately and commends her for ‘realigning her wayward path’.

Aric says— with a completely straight face— “Glad to see you alive, sir,” and doesn’t quite manage to dodge her punch to his shoulder.

Kulah’ni deliberately does not hold Elara’s hand when she visits her, all too aware of regulations and such (and she’s well-aware that it would get back to Garza, somehow), but that doesn’t stop her from placing her hand so that it’s right next to Elara’s when she sits with her.

On the seventh day, Elara wakes up.

* * *

 

“You get to pick the vacation planet,” Kulah’ni tells Elara.

Elara gapes at her for a moment. “Vacation, sir?   _Vacation_?”

“Yep.”

“Sir, with all due respect— I have reports to file, I have to send Captain Kalor a message, I need—“

“Elara,” Kulah’ni says sharply. Elara falls silent, more out of habit than anything else. For a moment Kulah’ni feels guilty, but Elara needs to hear this. “All necessary reports pertaining to the mission have been filed. I personally commed Captain Kalor to inform him of your status and to… discourage him from contacting the Thunderclap for the time being. I’ve also put in requisitions for medical supplies that we’ll be needing after the Gauntlet assault, considering we’re both running a bit low on supplies at the moment.”

Elara’s jaw works without noise for a moment, before she says faintly, “May we go to Naboo?”

Kulah’ni grins.

* * *

 

Naboo is a little-known, but beautiful, planet, and Kulah’ni recognizes why Elara wanted to go there almost immediately. Theed is a gorgeous city, the people are friendly, and the food is even better. Elara isn’t really allowed to be up and about, but Kulah’ni promises to take her for a day in the city once or twice.

In their civilian gear, they mostly look like a ragtag group of smugglers. Or they would, if Forex wasn’t trundling along behind them. Yuun has the (admittedly) brilliant idea of painting him red and wrapping him in Life Day lights, so that he looks like a decommissioned war droid-turned Life Day celebrant.

Forex seems to enjoy booming out Life Day wishes at random groups of passerby. It takes Kulah’ni everything she has not to laugh until tears fall down her cheeks.

Aric looks uncomfortable in his civilian gear until after a few hours, when he finally loosens up. Tanno slinks off somewhere almost immediately after landing; Kulah’ni sends him a private comm message reading _I’m not bailing your ass out of jail,_ to which he replies, _Noted, boss_.

They wander the city on the first day, with Kulah’ni enjoying the deep-seated peace that seems to permeate this planet. Yuun is happy about it as well, though Aric seems a bit antsy. Kulah’ni buys herself a small pendant, and they stop by the open air market on the city streets, where Aric goes a bit crazy stocking up on ingredients for potential dinners.

“Two days,” he promises Kulah’ni. “Team dinner, on me.”

The next day, Kulah’ni tells everyone that they can do whatever they want, and then she heads over to the medbay, where Elara is sitting up and paging through a report on her datapad. Kulah’ni gently removes the datapad from Elara’s grasp; Elara’s complaint is only half-hearted.

“Come on,” Kulah’ni says. “You need fresh air.”

Elara still isn’t moving around much, but Kulah’ni had spent the rest of her personal allowance on a cheap hoverchair for her.

“Oh, you didn’t,” Elara says, sounding miserable.

“Yeah, I did. Besides, it could come in handy later.”

Elara shoots her a look, like she knows that Kulah’ni’s lying, in spite of the fact that Kulah’ni keeps her expression utterly innocent. Still, she slowly sits herself in the chair, wincing slightly when the movement jolts her wound. Her momentary discomfort seems to soon be forgotten, when she gets out into the open air and a delighted smile appears on her face.

“One of my earlier superiors once took us here for shore leave,” Elara tells Kulah’ni, while they walk down Theed’s main street. “I fell in love almost instantly.”

“I can see why,” Kulah’ni replies.

They visit the market again, where Elara bites her nails over a set of tea before finally deciding to buy it. She admits to Kulah’ni that she keeps a stash of it in her locker, for when stress really starts to get to her. Kulah’ni understands; she’s used tea for practical purposes in the past. Sometimes it helps with meditation.

The two of them have lunch at a café near the palace, which is ridiculously overpriced, but the caf is decent. Kulah’ni watches the various citizens of Naboo walk by, smiling at the sight of three Rodian parents trying to herd their children across the square. Elara follows her gaze, outright laughing.

Elara’s enthusiasm is infectious; Kulah’ni is enjoying this particular instance of shore leave more than she ever has before. They head to the public park on the west side of the city after lunch, where the native species of bird have a tendency to sit on people’s heads (or so the rumor goes). About two minutes pass before Elara has two of the birds riding around in her hair.

“Hang on,” snickers Kulah’ni. “I’m getting a picture of this—“

“Oh, Kulah’ni, don’t—“

Kulah’ni very nearly pauses at the use of her name, but she manages to take a holo before Elara can duck her head. “Don’t worry,” she promises. “I won’t show the rest of the squad. You look fantastic with those birds sitting on your head, though.”

“They’re digging their claws into my scalp.”

“I don’t see you shooing them off.”

Elara scowls at her, but with the two birds now (apparently) settling down for a nap, she mostly just looks ridiculous.

By the time they finish their stroll through the park, Kulah’ni has gained a bird of her own. “I would leave it there,” she says, once they’ve reached the park entrance, “But I feel like it’s going to poop on me sooner or later.”

“Good point.” Shaking their heads vigorously seems to be enough to dislodge the birds, so that’s what they do.

The sun is beginning to set when they head back to the ship. Kulah’ni feels a pang of something like loss as they board; she follows Elara back to the medbay and thinks that the Thunderclap feels too quiet. She remembers that Elara was here, alone, the previous day, and curses herself for not taking her out sooner.

“Thank you,” Elara tells her. “That was wonderful. I couldn’t have asked for a better day.”

“Me neither,” Kulah’ni admits.

She helps Elara out of her chair into a sitting position on the edge of the bed. There’s a moment when they both pause, when her hand is resting on Elara’s hip and Elara is grasping both her shoulders. Before she even realizes what’s happening, Elara is sliding one of her hands up to cup Kulah’ni’s cheek, bringing their lips together.

Something in Kulah’ni’s brain fries, but she manages to respond, tightening her grasp on Elara’s hip.

Elara clears her throat when they part. “I believe that’s the proper way to end a date.”

“I, uh… yeah. Um. That’s… how they do it. I think.”

Elara pulls away, lying down on her bed with a devious smirk on her face. Kulah’ni is too stunned to even comment on it. “Good night, sir.”

Dazed, Kulah’ni says, “Good night,” and stumbles out of the room.

* * *

 

“So,” Aric says, noncommittal. “How was your date— uh, excuse me. Day?”

Kulah’ni feels like her heart is about to burst out of her chest, so she doesn’t even bother to flip him off.

**Author's Note:**

> 1\. Bit of a time skip. Oops. Did say this would go out of order.
> 
> 2\. You've probably figured out that Elara was the injured one, in this case. Why does the Trooper class story have so much pain?
> 
> 3\. I made up shit about treating wounds, so my apologies if it doesn't make any sense. I also made up shit about Naboo. Was it even a planet in the Old Republic? I don't even know.
> 
> 4\. Aric has been aware of Kulah'ni's massive crush on Elara for some time now.
> 
> Hope you enjoyed! If you have any questions, drop by my [Tumblr](http://darknessfactor.tumblr.com/ask).


End file.
